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Bülent Pekerman (45) is a driving instructor and politician. He is proud to be the first President of the Grand Council of Kurdish origin and GLP politician. A portrait.
The Basel Parliament has a new President: Bülent Pekerman. The Great Council elected him on Wednesday with 87 out of 99 votes. This is the first time a Green Liberal has held this office. Claudio Miozzari (SP) was elected governor with 90 out of 98 votes.
Only came to Switzerland as a teenager
He wears a gray blazer, has short hair, and holds the car keys in his right hand. Bülent Pekerman has been a driving instructor in Basel for exactly twenty years and drives an electric car. As a GLP politician, that’s almost mandatory, he says with a laugh and gets into the car.
The ride with him goes to Kleinbasel, to Feldbergstrasse. To where Pekerman lived as a boy, above a kebab shop.
Legend:
Bülent Pekerman has been working as a driving instructor for twenty years. His year as the “highest Basel resident” is also a company anniversary.
SRF / Hanna Girard
Pekerman came to Basel from central Anatolia when he was 15. The 90s in the city were a difficult time for him: “It was really hard. I couldn’t speak a word of German and had no friends at all.” It took a lot of time to settle in and build an environment.
It was really tough. I couldn’t speak a word of German and didn’t have any friends.
Pekerman has been politicizing for the GLP in Basel for many years. Being able to represent the youngest party in the Basel Parliament as President of the Grand Council makes him proud: “This shows that the GLP has now definitely arrived in Basel”. It is a great honor for him to represent the Kurdish community in Basel: “My family, my friends, they are all very proud of me.”
Legend:
In order to be able to fulfill all his new tasks, Pekerman is now training an intern. She should support him in his ride.
SRF / Hanna Girard
The Pekerman family’s kitchen table became politicized early on. Pekerman is convinced that being a Kurd is almost impossible to be apolitical. His relationship with Turkey is ambivalent. He hasn’t been there for many years and makes no secret of the fact that he doesn’t think much of the policies of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Nevertheless, he would like to show his two children his old homeland.
Pekerman now drives through his neighborhood in his electric car. On every corner in the Hirzbrunnen district, someone waves at him: everyone knows him. Pekerman is involved in the neighborhood association and the Basel district secretariat. He is contesting his second term in the Basel Parliament, which will now be crowned with the Presidency of the Grand Council.
I want to build bridges for people who don’t usually deal with local politics.
After graduating from high school, Pekerman first worked as a taxi driver and actually wanted to prepare for the teacher training college in Liestal on the side. However, the dream of becoming a primary school teacher fell through and Pekerman set up his own business and became a driving instructor. He is currently training an intern in order to be able to exercise the office of the highest Basel resident. She should be able to support him soon.
Pekerman has big plans: “I want to build bridges for people who don’t usually deal with local politics. I want to break down inhibitions». In the meantime, Pekerman has caught up on his high school diploma and wants to finally complete his law degree at a distance learning university.